Dahua Testing & model reviews

[salesguy 0]

Hi all, first post here. I am relatively new to the security camera scene but have been reading the various forums & review sites and decided to dive in for both home security & to learn more about the technology first hand. I'm a software and network professional so the technology has come naturally.

 

I am familiar with the overt shilling of various brands & services some here do, either directly or indirectly. I have no business interest in this endeavor and am only interested from a home security standpoint.

 

I recently took delivery of the following models of Dahua cameras from a Chinese distributor:

 

IPC-HFW3300C (3MP)

IPC-HDBW3300 (3MP)

IPC-HDB3200C (2MP - 2.8mm & 3.6mm)

IPC-HFW2100 (1.3MP - 3.6 & 8mm)

IPC-HD2100 (1.3MP 3.6 & 6mm)

 

So far I have hooked up & turned on most of these models and confirmed video and normal function. I was able to access the UI and see video using firefox on ubuntu 12.04, which is contradictory to what I was expecting given that these use active-x controls, but hey, it worked fine using firefox. Live video was displayed in the UI windows and I could easily make changes to settings and see the changes.

 

I also was able to setup each camera in zoneminder with no issues, the settings below are what you need if you are using zoneminder.

 

I plan on writing up a detailed review of most of these cameras including comparisons to the Vivotek FD8136 and Axis M3202 cameras I have on hand today.

 

My initial thoughts on the products:

 

-Excellent build quality and fit/finish. Seals and materials feel good. All models have solid metal housings and put many $200+ camera builds to shame

-UI is easy to navigate but has the expected chinglish

-Wiring dongles are solid looking, and the 3MP models have the reset buttons on the dongle. The cheaper mini-bullet has reset on the case as was mentioned here previously.

 

The only snapshot i have to include so far is the below (I hope it works) shot using the 2.8mm mini-bullet 1.3MP camera in my garage (99% dark). I haven't adjusted anything, just powered it up and set on the table. I'll get the 3MP side-by-side soon once I get a 2nd POE connection sorted out there.

 

I would be interested in advice on how to compare these cameras and how to setup such a test -and what data people would be interested in. I'm not sure how to post video yet, but am happy to share both video & still shots as is feasible. At some point I would like to share a live stream as well. PM me if you have questions or post a reply.

 

Zoneminder settings:

 

(camera set on defaults)

 

Source: FFMPEG

Frame Rate: 30

 

Source Path: rtsp://admin:admin@192.168.1.108:554/cam/realmonitor?channel=1&subtype=0?tcp

 

Resolution: 1280x720

 

[techwhizard 0]

Which distributor did you buy these off from?

[finalwish 0]

Interested in seeing these 2 perform at night, and especially if the IR in the dome affects images at different angles the camera points out of the dome, and whether the picture is soft at the edges due to the the dome.

 

IPC-HFW3300C (3MP)

IPC-HDBW3300 (3MP)

[buellwinkle 0]

Interested in getting your opinion on the IPC-HDBW3300 dome at night. From my findings, they get some IR light bleed, but tweaking it seems to clear that up, sometimes. Also in how it compares to the bullet at night as some complain the dome is not as sharp near the top edge.

[salesguy 0]

Folks,

 

It has taken longer than I though to get some sample pictures & video up, sorry about that.

 

So far I have only played around with mini-bullet & 3MP Dome cameras. Both are excellent, however I'm really impressed with the mini-bullet in terms of features, picture quality and price.

 

I shot some still & video using these two cameras, and the 3MP camera in 1920x1080 and 2056x1536 modes.

 

These 3 images were done with natural light mid-afternoon. I will get the same shots tonight when it's totally dark.

 

Any advice on testing setup & changes to make I'm happy to try out.

[buellwinkle 0]

I don't know if it's focus or just the way the 3MP domes are, but the other one I've seen have the same soft out of focus image. Have you tried focusing it yet?

 

If you think the 1.3MP mini bullet is good, the 1080P bullet has better image quality.

[salesguy 0]

I was thinking the same thing with the dome - and I tried for 20 minutes to get the focus just right, so that was the best I could manage.

 

I'm setting up the 3MP bullet now, i'll post a pic in a bit. From what I can tell the 3MP bullet does not have that same softness at all. It does, however, seem to have much less effective IR LEDs. More on that later.

[buellwinkle 0]

I did note in my review that the 1.3MP mini bullet had brighter LED's than the 1080MP bullet, but both were still good. It's just the dome seems to be a dissapointment. Maybe try the dome without the cover to see if the softness is caused by the dome or the lens. Also anxious to see if the 3MP bullet is the same, better or worse than the 1080P bullet.

[salesguy 0]

It looks like the 3MP bullet is really similar to the 2MP you tested, and they are close in price.

 

The IR LED's are much less intense and are smaller, which makes no sense to me. The 3MP dome has the bigger LED's similar to the mini-bullet.

 

So far I haven't noticed any halo effect, at least not like you had on that 1.3MP dome you tested, that was really acute.

 

I just grabbed these two shots inside, with almost no light. There is a clear halo effect on the dome but I just realized I left out that black foam ring accidentally, so I took 2nd and 3rd shot with ring in place, with and without the dome.

 

Apparently the ring didn't make any difference, with the dome installed there is a clear halo at night time.

 

Is there anything that can be done? is this something that occurs with other dome cameras? I am going to ask Dahua tech support today and see what they have to say.

 

I'm going to get a little more scientific about this today, I am mounting each camera to a block of wood so I can secure them in similar positions either outside or inside.

 

Is there a way to add higher quality images (more than 250kb) on this site? Or is that a good reason to have a review site where you have more control (like your site, which is excellent)? I was toying with the idea of setting up wordpress on my LAMP server at home, using a free DDNS name and hosting it myself. I shouldn't have any problem with bandwidth or server resources.

[unsportsmanlike 0]

salesguy which lense is that 3MP IR dome 3.3~12mm or 4.5~10mm?

2nd pic has a slight halo. but best image i seen from a 3MP IR dome

[salesguy 0]

Both 3MP cameras (dome & bullet) have the 3.2-12mm

[buellwinkle 0]

You can see the full resolution images. You have to click on the image to see it larger, then click on the 4 arrows at the lower right side of the image to see if full size. Not sure if the free wordpress site, like I originaly used provides space for full sized images. I hosted the images seperately.

 

IR light bleed is common on poorly designed domes. For example, OpenEye has the worst I've seen, Dahua was a close second, Vivotek next. They all use a rubber gromet to isolate the LEDs from the lens. My guess is the dome is not perfectly round, so the rubber doesn't track as well or not as effective at different angles, hence you may see some people complain more than others. But my theory may not hold water because I can see on the Dahua dome that the rubber is fully sealed against the dome, yet I get terrible light bleed. My other theory is the plastic used carries the light across the thickness of the plastic, like a fiber optic light effect.

 

Not as much an issue on a bullet because the glass on the front is flat and the lens and LEDs are in a fixed position. Other domes I tested like the ACTi domes do not have any perceptible IR light bleed. Of course cameras without IR do not have this issue, so you can get the Dahua 3MP dome without illuminators and use external illuminators. Believe me, I wish it was great, because I would prefer the style of a vandal dome instead of that huge bullet for the front of my home.

[finalwish 0]

It looks like the bullet is better to go with for now since the dome is causing softness for many.

I hope Dahua engineers can get the issue fix.

 

In the settings, you can set up a Multicast stream, but what software would you use to view the stream?

And what settings would you set it up with, rtsp?

[R_S 0]

Great Review, I am having some hardtime with Zoneminder (module) on Thecus, can you tell what setting did you use on:

under Source Tab

 

Remote Protocol:

Remote Method:

Remote Host Name:

Remote Host Port:

Remote Host Path:

Remote image Colours: 24 bit colour (default)

Capture Width (pixels): 1920 (default)

Caputer Height (Pixels): 1080 ((default)

[salesguy 0]

Good point on that rubber grommet - I will open up that dome and double check, it might not be in proper position. I'm still waiting to hear back from dahua engineering, they are on holiday in China until the 8th. I'm not ready to write off the 3MP dome just yet, the form factor is appealing and daytime pictures are great.

 

Today I hope to get to the 2 models of mini-domes I have on hand (1.3mp and 2mp).

 

Zoneminder setting exactly below.

 

Source: FFMPEG (which doesn't have the settings you ask for - that is for remote)

 

rtsp://admin:admin@192.168.1.150:554/cam/realmonitor?channel=1&subtype=0?tcp

 

1920x1080

 

I haven't been successful getting "remote" type to work with many cameras, at least not these dahua.

 

Remote Protocol:

Remote Method:

Remote Host Name:

Remote Host Port:

Remote Host Path:

Remote image Colours: 24 bit colour (default)

Capture Width (pixels): 1920 (default)

Caputer Height (Pixels): 1080 ((default)

[salesguy 0]

It looks like the bullet is better to go with for now since the dome is causing softness for many.

I hope Dahua engineers can get the issue fix.

 

In the settings, you can set up a Multicast stream, but what software would you use to view the stream?

And what settings would you set it up with, rtsp?

 

These questions are probably outside the scope of a particular camera review - the most basic way to view the web interface of the camera itself, you can see the live stream, take snapshots & record video.

[finalwish 0]

 

These questions are probably outside the scope of a particular camera review - the most basic way to view the web interface of the camera itself, you can see the live stream, take snapshots & record video.

 

Yeah, not part of camera review.

[chomber 0]

What zoneminder and ffmpeg versions are you guys using?

I have't been able to get it working either with IPC-HFW2100 model and zoneminder 1.25.0 and ffmpeg version 0.10.5

 

VLC plays the below url just fine but zoneminder has following in the log

 

FAT Unable to open input rtsp://admin:admin@10.0.0.71:554/cam/realmonitor?channel=1&subtype=0&tcp due to: Success zm_ffmpeg_camera.cpp 95

 

Source Type: ffmpeg

Source path: rtsp://admin:admin@10.0.0.71:554/cam/realmonitor?channel=1&subtype=0&tcp

Source Colours 24bit colour

Capture Width (pixels) 1280

Capture Height (pixels) 960

Preserve Aspect Ratio ()

Orientation normal

 

any ideas?

[buellwinkle 0]

If you want to view the camera output outside the web interface, I've successfully used VLC from VideoLan, a free streaming program. Clck on Media, Open Network Streaming and enter the RTSP URL, like this rtsp://192.168.1.10:554/cam/realmonitor?channel=1&subtype=0 and click the Play button. Works well if you want something light that's running on your desktop.

[chomber 0]

If you want to view the camera output outside the web interface, I've successfully used VLC from VideoLan, a free streaming program. Clck on Media, Open Network Streaming and enter the RTSP URL, like this rtsp://192.168.1.10:554/cam/realmonitor?channel=1&subtype=0 and click the Play button. Works well if you want something light that's running on your desktop.

yeah works for me too but would like to get motion detection working with zoneminder.

[salesguy 0]

FAT Unable to open input rtsp://admin:admin@10.0.0.71:554/cam/realmonitor?channel=1&subtype=0&tcp due to: Success zm_ffmpeg_camera.cpp 95

 

Source Type: ffmpeg

Source path: rtsp://admin:admin@10.0.0.71:554/cam/realmonitor?channel=1&subtype=0&tcp

Source Colours 24bit colour

Capture Width (pixels) 1280

Capture Height (pixels) 960

Preserve Aspect Ratio ()

Orientation normal

 

any ideas?

 

 

That looks like a public IP - are you 100% sure zoneminder can get throught any firewalls or routers to get to the camera?

 

If it is - get that password changed!

 

Have you been able to open any other camera types using FFMPEG? Is FFMPEG checked under options - images - checked and correct path?

 

I installed zoneminder 1.25.0 on ubuntu which included FFMPEG, I was never able to get it to compile on ubuntu no matter what I tried, so I went the easy route.

 

Double check that FFMPEG stuff and report back.

[salesguy 0]

Updated back yard shot - 3MP dome with the seal pressed up against the dome to hopefully minimize the halo effect.

 

Right not it's not dark, but I set it up so I thought I'd post what it looks like now. Will update later with a night shot. It will be truly night, there is barely any light back there.

 

When I originally got into IP cameras, I thought it would be awesome to see all the wildlife and stuff going on at night, see who was walking or driving back there on that road. now I know it will take a $10k camera AND a $10k illuminator do light up the entire area with that level of detail. I'll settle for seeing what is on my patio.

 

I do have no doubt the 3MP dome would work wonders inside, say to cover our livingroom/kitchen at night, but no way the wife would want this big sucker (it's really not that big) so noticeable. I might get away with a mini dome or mini-bullet at best in our main living areas.

 

Question - what do folks think about the 3MP format being 2040x1536? I think the image size looks odd since all my monitors and such are widescreen. I wonder if there is a benefit to staying with resolutions that are in that format.

[buellwinkle 0]

The daytime image looks good and in focus. You can chose 1080P if you prefer on that camera to get a wide screen format. Depends if you want to capture as much height. For me, I prefer to see 4:3 format because I'm typically looking at a handful of cameras on my wide screen TV and the format fits well. In my driveway, 1080P is not tall enough so I end up getting a shot that's too wide and not enough height. Also, narrower areas like front door, side yards, the extra wide format doesn't work for me. Of course, watching 3MP 4:3 format on a 1080P TV is not going to give you the full resolution of the camera but comes in handy when you are viewing single frames to ID someone. Keep in mind, that extra 500 or so lines of resolution means you get about 50% more pixels to ID someone's face.

 

You could get their 1080P PTZ speed dome, with it's illuminators, you can cover your entire back yard.

[salesguy 0]

The daytime image looks good and in focus. yard.

 

Thanks - It is tricky to get the focus just right without a handheld screen or more experience. I'd love to have remote focus but that is a whole 'nother class of cameras.

 

I just took the following shots just after dusk. The 3MP dome & bullet perform about the same, both show much more of the backyard with the shutter opened up to 1/4 exposure, and I fiddled with the "low-noise" and "low-blur" settings vs automatic. The automatic looked the worst to me, but of course there was no motion in these shots which would have been a blur for sure.

 

I did also notice i get a decent amount of white light from the house next door which has flood lights directed in the general area. Not a ton but 200w of light.

 

I also took one indoor dark shot with the dome, and the halo effect is gone as far as I can see, which means you simply have to make sure the rubber grommet thing is seated properly and touching the dome.

 

Hopefully some of these shots help folks here make decisions between models & manufacturers, and I will follow up with the mini-dome info and then (eventually) with what I decided to go with and where.

 

A few folks have asked me who I got these from and what I paid - I haven't responded because I don't want this to be about what deal you can get. You can get on alibaba and find out pricing easily, so for now I'm not going to talk about the deal in this context.

 

cheers.

[salesguy 0]

3 more pictures - man we need a forum with some features like image & video posting that are a bit more useful.

 

I just realized it's possible there is some halo effect there, I'm taking some more shots in a second...